The best AI tools for live Zoom workshops are Claude and ChatGPT — used on a second screen or browser tab while you teach. They act like a research partner you can query mid-session without breaking your flow.
The Second-Screen Setup
Think of it like having a very fast research assistant sitting next to you during class. You teach, a question comes up you want to expand on, and you flip to your second screen and type a quick prompt. Within seconds you have a clear explanation, an analogy, or a follow-up question to pose to your students.
Most educators who use AI effectively during live sessions treat it exactly this way — not as the star of the show, but as a quiet backstage resource. Claude and ChatGPT are both well-suited to this because they respond quickly to short, specific prompts and don’t require setup between uses.
Which Tools Do What During a Live Session
Claude is particularly strong at explaining complex concepts in plain language on the fly — useful if a student asks something that takes you in an unexpected direction. You can prompt it with “explain this to a 55-year-old educator in two sentences” and get something you can read almost verbatim.
ChatGPT is similarly capable and has a slightly larger plugin ecosystem if you want to connect to external tools. For Zoom workshops specifically, neither tool integrates directly into Zoom’s interface — you’re working alongside them, not through them. That’s actually a feature: it keeps you in control of what gets shared with students and when.
Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai are worth knowing about too. They join your Zoom call as a participant and transcribe everything in real time. That’s less about live facilitation assistance and more about capturing the session for later — useful for turning your workshop into written content after the fact.
What This Means for Educators
As a coach or trainer running Zoom workshops, the biggest practical win is having AI available to help when a student asks a question that takes you slightly off-script. Instead of saying “I’ll get back to you on that,” you can pause for 15 seconds, get a solid answer, and keep momentum going.
The key is having your prompts pre-loaded or knowing your go-to prompt patterns. “Give me a one-paragraph explanation of [topic] for beginners” or “What’s a good analogy for [concept]?” are two you can use over and over.
The Simple Rule
Use AI on a second screen, not on your main teaching screen. Your students should see your teaching — not your prompts. Once you build the habit of checking in with AI for tough questions rather than winging it or going blank, your workshops will feel more confident and your students will notice.